Second Life as an educational tool
3-D virtual worlds are bold new frontiers for educators who are looking for ways of making learning a more engaging, interactive experience. Of these, Second Life is the one getting the most press. But is the environment that Second Life provides really worth the time and effort it takes to learn how to use it? And with issues such as bandwidth limitations and limited access to up to date hardware - is it a viable choice as an educational tool?
Educators Lindy McKeown and Jo Kay (known "in world" as Decka Mah and Jokay Wollongong respectively) share their perspectives on Second Life and some of the discoveries they've made.
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Second Life landmarks (SLURLs)
The following links are Second Life URLs or SLURLs. They act as shared landmarks for people who have a Second Life account and will teleport an avatar (the representation of yourself in the virtual world of Second Life) to the locations within the virtual world.
Second Life requires users to download software in order to access it. The software is quite resource intensive and the downloads involved to install it are relatively large. If you are on a dial-up connection you'll probably not be able to participate in Second Life.
If you have an older computer, visit the Second Life web site - http://secondlife.com to determine if it will meet the minimum system requirements.
Websites relating to this episode
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Second Life
- The official web site for Linden Labs' Second Life virtual world.
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Second Life in education
- A wiki run by Jo Kay and Sean Fitzgerald aiming to provide an overview of the educational possibilities of virtual worlds, with a focus on Second Life.
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Decka Mah...just a second
- Lindy McKeown's blog about her experiences in Second Life.
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Jokay.com.au
- Jo Kay's blog about virtual worlds, new technologies, design and online learning.
edna Groups relating to Second Life
Second Life and its use in education
A space where educators can talk about Second Life and explore the possibilities of using it in vocational education in Australia.Second Life resources available in edna
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- A wordpress site featuring a range of education projects within the Second Life virtual space. Categories include; art, culture, history, languages, l...
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- Skoolaborate is a global project that uses a 'virtual world' environment for collaborative learning for both teachers and students. Using an island in...
- The impact of structured argumentation and enactive role play on students' argumentative writing skills [edna]
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